On March 1, HUD
Secretary Andrew Cuomo and Congressman John Kasich (OH) who is
Chairman of the House Budget Committee, announced an initiative to
sell local governments HUD-owned homes for $1 each. The initiative,
which is called HUD Good Neighbor Policy got off to quick start, by
selling the first home to Columbus (OH) Mayor Michael B. Coleman.

Initially, three thousand
homes are being offered for sale. They are single-family homes
acquired by HUD’s Federal Housing Administration through foreclosure
actions, and which the FHA has not been able to sell for six months.
Each month in the future, the FHA will sell additional homes to local
governments.

The Good Neighbor Policy
will be flexible, giving local governments wide latitude in the public
use of the homes. The local government may fix up the home for a
first-time homebuyer, make it available to a group to provide services
such as child care centers or job training centers, or in some cases
use the vacant lots where a home has been demolished for a
recreational park. HUD will demolish the homes when they are extremely
deteriorated and sell the lots to local governments for $1.

“The Good Neighbor
Policy will build better futures for hundreds of communities and
thousands of families across our nation,” Cuomo said. “It will
help reverse decades of decline in our cities by revitalizing
neighborhoods, attracting new residents, and promoting
homeownership.”

“I think this
policy is going to provide huge benefits for America and America’s
families,” said Kasich. “I hope there can be more instances when
Members of Congress and officials from the Executive Branch can work
together to develop and implement ideas like this one that achieve the
common good.”